


The Fall

by Nina



Category: Elfquest
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-08
Updated: 2012-07-08
Packaged: 2017-11-09 11:30:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nina/pseuds/Nina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In short, Cutter faces his greatest fear... over and over again.</p><p>(I wrote this a while ago in response to a challenge. Hope you like)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Fall

It was his greatest fear- and he was forced to confront it over and over again. He remembered the first time, on the Bridge of Destiny. It seemed a lifetime ago. A lifetime ago, yet as recent in his mind as yesterday…

A handful of Wolfriders had gathered to watch their chief face this final test. Savah was there, quietly judging… and the blind Sun Toucher, his craggy face turned toward the wind. Leetah stood beside them, impassive. Her hair and pink shawl whipped in the turbulent gusts, but her face betrayed no sentiment. Her eyes were as empty of either compassion or contempt as the calm waters of an unstirred lake.

Skywise had clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Why this should be nothing for you, Cutter!” his soul brother exclaimed. “I’ve seen you walk a tree branch no bigger than this without even stirring a leaf!”

“But it wasn’t so far to fall, Skywise…” Cutter could not tear his eyes from the rocky, desert floor. “Never so far to fall!”

The fall, however, had not been Cutter’s. When Rayek slipped, Leetah’s mask of indifference crumbled. “Rayek!” she screamed. For a split second, it seemed the desert elf would die- but his arms flailed as he fell, and his fingers latched onto a jutting spur of rock. Rayek caught himself, hanging by one hand over open space. In that moment, Cutter felt something inside him harden- a sense of purpose that drove away his fear. “No elf must die,” he growled, “Not even if he is my enemy.”

The watching Wolfriders had cheered as their chief pulled his former enemy to safety. Leetah’s relief was tangible, and, in their recognized state, flooded his being. But Rayek… 

Shame, hot fury and humiliation radiated from his rival’s eyes. *You.* The single thought, emotion packed, knocked Cutter flat on his chest. Mind reeling, Cutter hugged the cold stone of the bridge close, and lay panting. Incredibly, Rayek had stood and backed away. How? It was the rage that drove him, focused him, and gave him the balance he needed to escape. But Cutter knew Rayek’s fall, that day, had been complete. The Sunfolk’s Chief Hunter’s pride and sense of self had plunged and shattered on the hard rocks below. 

The second time… it was worse. In a moment of sheer, horrified shock, Cutter watched the human’s arm snake out, grab the dangling lodestone, and drag his groggy friend over the cliff’s edge. 

In that instant, Cutter knew the terror Leetah had felt so many years prior. He watched, powerless, as his closest friend free fell toward certain death. 

That the tree root was even there… That Skywise had crashed into the cliff just inches above it… that he’d had the presence of mind to throw out his arm and grab it… bouncing off the jutting rock and swinging down… his plunge arrested with a jolt that slammed through the soul bond he shared with his chief, leaving Cutter jarred and clutching his own shoulder in shock… It was all a miracle too great to even thank the High Ones for. 

*Quick—Grab the vine!* Stumbling forward, Cutter fed out the coiled line. Skywise watched as it snaked down the cliff face beside him, but made to move to take it. He looked back up at his chief. *I-I can’t! My arm won’t work!* 

Fear swept through Cutter, then… not the mindless terror of a moment ago, but the nauseating vertigo that had visited him on the Bridge of Destiny. And this time, the stakes were higher- not an enemy’s life, but the life of one dear to him.

It wasn’t purpose that drove him this time, to swallow the fear. It was a greater fear, and love. *Hang on… hang on, my friend. I’m coming!*

*Hurry!* He could feel Skywise’s pain… starting to surface as the shock wore off. That impact with the cliff had damaged something. Keeping his eyes glued to the cliff face, mind focused on hand over hand as he descended… Cutter studiously ignored the drop. 

At last, he came level with Skywise. He could see now that his friend was trembling, his face white and sweaty. Edging close, Cutter looped the vine around one hand and reached his other arm around Skywise’s waist. He pulled his injured friend to him, bracing him against one leg. *Grab my neck.*

Skywise drew in a deep breath, then made a convulsive grab for Cutter. They fell against each other, hearts pounding. Cutter felt his brother’s sharp relief washing over them both in waves. For a moment, all was well. *Hold onto me,* he instructed. *I’ll pull us both up.* They could make it, he thought- the ordeal was almost over. Almost.

Without warning, Skywise slumped, the last fragments of his consciousness skidding into darkness. “Wake up!” Cutter shouted, shaking the limp body in alarm. “You’ve got to stay awake!” No response. 

He can’t do it… Cutter realized. It’s too much. The waterfall pounded to the left of them, its spray making the vine slippery. Skywise’s head rested on his shoulder. Arms aching with fatigue, Cutter felt his grip begin to slide. They couldn’t stay like this much longer. He held the beloved body close, pressed his face into Skywise’s hair. If he dropped his friend, he could go on- could finish his quest. But what would be the point? What point would there ever be again, without his brother’s lopsided grin? Without his calm, quiet advice? Without that steady presence beside him? 

No fear worse than this. No consequence greater. Time narrowed until there was only the fear, his own, heaving breath, and the moment before they fell. Filled with anger at the unfairness of it all, Cutter threw back his head and howled. “Curse you humans!” He shouted it in their ugly language. “Curse you all, and a curse on me too for trusting any of you!”

Then, incredibly, the vine began to move.

Afterward, when Olbar had pulled them up, set them safely on the ledge. Afterward, when Skywise had recovered and his arm was splinted. Afterward, as the burly human walked away, muttering about his vanished daughter… Then Cutter reacted. Standing on the cliff, looking out toward Blue Mountain, with Skywise safe beside him, Cutter voiced his conviction: “The rest of our journey ought to be as soft as Moonshade’s finest leather.” But he couldn’t help feeling that some part of him… his confidence… his faith in this quest… lay broken at the base of the swirling falls.

The third time, it happened so fast. There was barely a chance to react. No conscious thought- wolf instincts took over. One moment, he was riding on the back of Voll’s great bird, his daughter, Ember, safe in his arms. The next, a shot rang out. Voll shuddered as the bird reared back, A spray of blood across his face, and Cutter jerked Ember aside- The spear’s tip burst from Voll’s back, sliced through the air where the cub’s head had been… and stopped with a small ‘ping’ against the gold circlet on Cutter’s own neck. For a split second, they hung motionless in the air. Then… they fell. 

Falling, plunging, air rushing past. Ember screamed. No thought. No time to think. Cutter curled himself around his daughter. Snow-packed ground rushed up to meet them. When the bird crashed, beak first, he flung them free of its body, rolling several feet. 

“Father, father,” Ember sobbed. She clung to him with absolute faith—seeking comfort in his strength. But Cutter lay trembling, the soft snow pressed cold against his face. He could not move until he felt Treestump’s comforting hand on his shoulder. At last, he pushed himself up. The icy wind swirled around them. Elves rushed past. The sound of wailing, voices shouting. Weapons drawn. Amid the chaos, Cutter breathed a prayer of thanks to be standing with his daughter on solid ground.

They had survived. So far, they had survived. 

Then why, why Now? Why did he stumble forward, blinded by the Palace flash, blinded by imminent loss… the send-screams of his family ringing in his mind… only to land, roughly, on his hands and knees. Fingers digging into hot sand. Hard rock beneath him. Why did he look up now to find himself atop the Bridge of Destiny. Where it all had started. Where the first fall had taken place.

He pushed himself up. Behind him, he heard voices. “Don’t shame us, Cutter! Don’t shame Leetah!” It was Skywise. To his left, his best friend had gathered with the Wolfriders to cheer him on. His children were there too- staring up at their father with admiring, expectant eyes. And to his right? Leetah, her face inscrutable as before, shawls billowing in the wind. The silent Sun Toucher and the Mother of Memory stood behind her.

And before him… Rayek. The young, brash hunter strode confidently out onto the bridge. The violent winds swirled by him harmlessly. Rayek was the eye of the storm.

“Are you a coward?” The dark elf spat. “See how simple a task this is! But you, mortal… you never deserved her. I have only to wait. You will fall, and when you do… she will be mine.”

“No!” Cutter moved forward onto the bridge. He lunged for his old rival. But Rayek laughed and rose into the air. “You see? You cannot touch me!” Cutter turned, and suddenly stumbled. Below the bridge was no ground, but a dark, formless abyss. He flattened himself against the rock, holding it tightly, too scared to move.

Rayek landed beside Leetah. The auborn-haired healer looked upon her former lifemate with disdain. She took Rayek’s hand and allowed him to lead her down the slope. The Wolfriders followed, one by one, ushering Ember and Suntop with them. Skywise was the last to go.

“Fahr…” Tam whispered. “Don’t leave me here.”

But Skywise gave him a pitying glance. “It’s only a matter of time,” he said. Then he strode off after the others. 

Alone on the bridge, hearing the winds wail, Cutter closed his eyes. Could he crawl back to safety? He looked down into the swirling darkness. It seemed hungry, reaching up to seize him. Suddenly, the pull was too great. He scrambled, but lost his hold. Night after night… in the terror of a dream… he fell.


End file.
